Springtime Fare

We're getting a little antsy here for some warm weather. It was nice out today so we decided to jump the gun a bit and go for some springtime food. I would let this salsa sit for a few hours in the fridge to really let the flavors develop, but it's totally up to you.

Pan-Seared Salmon with a Tomato Pineapple and Chili Salsa with Grilled Asparagus


300 g salmon, 2 150g fillets, skin-on, scaled
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
4 tablespoons olive oil, extra-virgin
½ cup pineapple, diced small
8 cherry tomatoes, diced
1 garlic, clove, minced
1 jalapeno, deseeded and diced
3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped roughly
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
300 g asparagus, trimmed

Drizzle some olive oil over the salmon (skin-side) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Make the salsa. Combine 2 tablespoons olive oil, the cider vinegar, pineapple, tomatoes, garlic, salt, pepper, lime juice, jalapeno and cilantro in a bowl. Mix through and taste. Season as necessary. You want to taste some acidity to counteract the oiliness of the fish so be sure there is enough lime juice and/or vinegar to have a good amount of acidity. (NOTE: If you want to optimize the flavor of the salsa, make well ahead and allow to chill for a few hours to allow the flavors to develop, particularly the chile heat)

Heat a grill pan and a non-stick frying pan over medium high heat until hot. Add a drizzle of olive oil to each pan and swirl around to coat the bottom. If the oil moves rather freely, the pans are hot enough. Put the asparagus spears in the grill pan, add a pinch of salt and pepper and toss a bit to coat with oil. Let cook, tossing occasionally, until they become very green and start to get little brown grill marks on them. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Place the salmon fillets, skin side down, in the non-stick pan. Season the flesh side with salt and pepper and leave them alone for a few minutes. Watch the color of the salmon turn a lighter shade of pink working its way up from the bottom as it cooks. When 2/3 of the way up is lighter pink, carefully turn over the fillets and cook for about 30-45 seconds on the flesh side, until the fillets have just (or are just about) turned uniformly light pink. Remove immediately from the heat.

Place some asparagus spears down on a plate and put the salmon on top of them. Spoon over a generous amount of salsa and drizzle with good extra-virgin olive oil, if desired. Serve.